Ohio Gov. John Kasich is turning to a powerful but little-known legislative panel to do what his fellow Republican lawmakers in the General Assembly wouldn’t: expand Medicaid

Kasich’s administration plans to submit a request Friday to the Controlling Board, which handles certain adjustments to the state budget. The request would allow federal dollars to cover more low-income residents under the health care overhaul, said Greg Moody, director of the Governor’s Office of Health Transformation.

The board is not scheduled to meet until Oct. 21, though requests are made in advance of its meetings.

Kasich proposed an extension of Medicaid in his two-year state budget plan in February. But the GOP-controlled Legislature has balked at the idea, despite the U.S. government promising to cover the entire cost of the expansion for the first three years and 90 percent after that.

Roughly 366,000 Ohioans would be newly eligible for coverage under the extension beginning in 2014.

It’s unclear how the seven-member panel will decide on the request, though the two Democrats on the board have expressed support for Medicaid expansion.

Four Republicans and a Kasich administration official from the Office of Budget and Management also sit on the Controlling Board.

Kasich has pushed the Legislature for months to act on extending the program. Lawmakers have held a series of hearings on the issue, trying to find common ground.

Moody said because of the timing and the governor wanting additional people covered by January, going through the board is “the right course.”

“This has been coming for a while,” Moody said in an interview.

Medicaid expansion is one of the key components of Democratic President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Many Republican lawmakers, who dominate both chambers of the General Assembly, are averse to the health overhaul and resistant to expanding government programs. They have cited concerns about increasing the national debt and fears that the money from Washington could be cut off.

Medicaid already provides coverage to one of every five residents in Ohio.